Middle Eastern carriers saw an 11.6 percent year-on-year drop in cargo volumes in May LONDON: Air cargo volumes in the Middle East remained lower in May compared to the previous year, the International Air Transport Association reported on Tuesday. Middle Eastern carriers saw an 11.6 percent year-on-year drop in cargo volumes in May, despite improvements in global demand due to easing Omicron restrictions in China.Demand in the region fell in April by 11.9 percent year on year.Meanwhile, capacity was 7.6 percent higher than in May 2021. "Significant benefits from traffic being redirected to avoid flying over Russia failed to materialize. This is likely due to persisting supply chain issues in Asia," IATA said. According to the IATA, several factors are influencing air cargo performance, including the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which is limiting cargo capacity serving Europe. Several Russian and Ukrainian airlines were major cargo players. However, overall, “May offered positive news for air cargo,” IATA said. While global demand fell by 8.3 percent compared to May 2021, this was an improvement over the 9.1 percent drop seen in April. "The easing of Omicron restrictions in China helped to alleviate supply chain constraints and contributed to a performance improvement in May," IATA said.